Concorde report (for QF people)
May 7, 2002, 5:13 am
#1
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Concorde report (for QF people)
I have posted this here because I know that there are a lot of you thinking about taking the reward via QF points. If you have any other questions, let me know.
04 May LHR JFK BA001
06 May JFK LHR BA002
Check-in: both at LHR and JFK this was straight forward and quick. At New York you go through a dedicated security channel (although I got the full random search which was a pain took nearly 10 minutes including the shoes). London was a bit slower I just used the regular fast track security not sure if there was another one for Concorde/First there probably was.
Lounges: Nice lounges at Heathrow and New York Concorde Lounge is available for use by BAs First Class passengers as well. I checked out the regular First Lounges they were serving Lanson Champagne there instead of Krug. Missed the massage at Heathrow as they were fully booked until 10.30 (I got there at 8.00).
Boarding: direct from the Lounge at both airports.
Seating: I was in 4A out-bound (with a passenger next to me), and 7D in-bound (with 7C free). Much better with the extra space otherwise it really is very cramped. The seat is about as wide as a regular economy class seat, pitch is probably about 40 inches. The armrest is the killer its about 2 inches wide so too narrow if there are two of you.
In terms of viewing no problems with restricted view in row 4 or 7. I went down the back and there was not much restriction until about row 12. So any of those seats are fine.
While there is no first class it seemed that the premium pax were seated with a spare seat next to them. Row two was left completely clear.
Food: ok. Its more the experience that counts. Plastic cutlery but its the study type. Brunch was served out-bound and breakfast on the return. Nice additional touch was that on the way back we had Beluga caviar (not mentioned on the menu). Everyone got a small .7oz pot. I had two mains on the return including the British Breakfast which was nothing to write home about.
Flight experience: unbeatable. Take-off is great as is the acceleration just before Mach 1. We didnt see the curvature of the earth on either flight (altitudes of 57000 feet out and 58000 back). Only minor discomfort was the several rows of plane spotters that were constantly taking flash-light pictures. It was bearable until they were standing at the front of the plane and taking pictures towards the aft (and in the process getting direct pictures of other passengers).
Gifts: none. You need to ask for the certificate kit and they had run out on the return flight (they had given them all out on the way over).
Does it get boring after the first time?: no. In fact you almost enjoy it more because you are relaxed having already done it before.
Cheers
WG
04 May LHR JFK BA001
06 May JFK LHR BA002
Check-in: both at LHR and JFK this was straight forward and quick. At New York you go through a dedicated security channel (although I got the full random search which was a pain took nearly 10 minutes including the shoes). London was a bit slower I just used the regular fast track security not sure if there was another one for Concorde/First there probably was.
Lounges: Nice lounges at Heathrow and New York Concorde Lounge is available for use by BAs First Class passengers as well. I checked out the regular First Lounges they were serving Lanson Champagne there instead of Krug. Missed the massage at Heathrow as they were fully booked until 10.30 (I got there at 8.00).
Boarding: direct from the Lounge at both airports.
Seating: I was in 4A out-bound (with a passenger next to me), and 7D in-bound (with 7C free). Much better with the extra space otherwise it really is very cramped. The seat is about as wide as a regular economy class seat, pitch is probably about 40 inches. The armrest is the killer its about 2 inches wide so too narrow if there are two of you.
In terms of viewing no problems with restricted view in row 4 or 7. I went down the back and there was not much restriction until about row 12. So any of those seats are fine.
While there is no first class it seemed that the premium pax were seated with a spare seat next to them. Row two was left completely clear.
Food: ok. Its more the experience that counts. Plastic cutlery but its the study type. Brunch was served out-bound and breakfast on the return. Nice additional touch was that on the way back we had Beluga caviar (not mentioned on the menu). Everyone got a small .7oz pot. I had two mains on the return including the British Breakfast which was nothing to write home about.
Flight experience: unbeatable. Take-off is great as is the acceleration just before Mach 1. We didnt see the curvature of the earth on either flight (altitudes of 57000 feet out and 58000 back). Only minor discomfort was the several rows of plane spotters that were constantly taking flash-light pictures. It was bearable until they were standing at the front of the plane and taking pictures towards the aft (and in the process getting direct pictures of other passengers).
Gifts: none. You need to ask for the certificate kit and they had run out on the return flight (they had given them all out on the way over).
Does it get boring after the first time?: no. In fact you almost enjoy it more because you are relaxed having already done it before.
Cheers
WG
May 7, 2002, 10:39 am
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Thanks for the report. Just wondering about a few other details:
1. What days of the week were you flying?
2. What was the load? Could you move seats if there were any open pairs? Or was the flight full enough that every row had at least one person seated in them?
3. What was offered as Brunch [ex-LHR] besides the caviar [or was that served with the English Breakfast ex-JFK]? Can you recall the wine selection, or copy it from the menu card?
4. Were there amenity kits and slippers, etc. and if so were these the same as BA First provides?
5. What type of inflight entertainment system is there?
6. What sort of "plane spotters" can afford US$12K to get up to those antics? I would have expected a more refined passenger load.
Not meaning to be overly picky, but just curious what to expect in July when I do this trip.
1. What days of the week were you flying?
2. What was the load? Could you move seats if there were any open pairs? Or was the flight full enough that every row had at least one person seated in them?
3. What was offered as Brunch [ex-LHR] besides the caviar [or was that served with the English Breakfast ex-JFK]? Can you recall the wine selection, or copy it from the menu card?
4. Were there amenity kits and slippers, etc. and if so were these the same as BA First provides?
5. What type of inflight entertainment system is there?
6. What sort of "plane spotters" can afford US$12K to get up to those antics? I would have expected a more refined passenger load.
Not meaning to be overly picky, but just curious what to expect in July when I do this trip.
May 7, 2002, 10:46 am
#5
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"4. Were there amenity kits and slippers, etc. and if so were these the same as BA First provides?"
I never received any amenity pack when I travelled
5. What type of inflight entertainment system is there?
6 channel audio
6. What sort of "plane spotters" can afford US$12K to get up to those antics? I would have expected a more refined passenger load.
Those with 125,000 FF miles perhaps
Dave
I never received any amenity pack when I travelled
5. What type of inflight entertainment system is there?
6 channel audio
6. What sort of "plane spotters" can afford US$12K to get up to those antics? I would have expected a more refined passenger load.
Those with 125,000 FF miles perhaps
Dave
May 7, 2002, 11:14 am
#6
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Shareholder - the answers to your questions (not already answered by Dave!!) are:
1: out Saturday, return Monday (the Monday was a public holiday in the UK)
2: the load on each flight was about 80%. There were several pairs of seats unoccupied - so you could move.
3: brunch was served out of London and consisted of canaps, muesli, choice of hot dishes (full English or vegetable tart or Caesar salad or fish), followed by cheeses or dessert (chocolate cake), then tea/coffee and chocolates.
Breakfast was served out of the US and started with the caviar (not listed on the menu), followed by a fruit plate, then a choice between the full English, chicken with mushroom risotto, eggs Florentine or muesli, followed by cheeses or dessert (passionfruit tart), then coffee and chocolates.
Sandwiches were available as an alternative.
The wine selection was long, but they only carry one of each type.
ScottC has copied a menu in pdf format on a post on the BA board. You can do a search for the title:
BA or CX F Class (post started on 12-25-2001)
It's from last year - but will give you an idea.
As Dave said - no amenity kits. There was audio - I thought it was only 5 channels - there might have been 6 - they were ok.
As for expecting a 'refined' passenger load - it was a bit more like an Agatha Christie novel - there was a whole range of people including a couple of rock music celebs, a few wealthy older couples, the plane spotter types, the man next to me who slept the whole way (but the crew knew him as a regular traveller), a mother with two children, business types, and those who you just wondered who they were!
Cheers
WG
1: out Saturday, return Monday (the Monday was a public holiday in the UK)
2: the load on each flight was about 80%. There were several pairs of seats unoccupied - so you could move.
3: brunch was served out of London and consisted of canaps, muesli, choice of hot dishes (full English or vegetable tart or Caesar salad or fish), followed by cheeses or dessert (chocolate cake), then tea/coffee and chocolates.
Breakfast was served out of the US and started with the caviar (not listed on the menu), followed by a fruit plate, then a choice between the full English, chicken with mushroom risotto, eggs Florentine or muesli, followed by cheeses or dessert (passionfruit tart), then coffee and chocolates.
Sandwiches were available as an alternative.
The wine selection was long, but they only carry one of each type.
ScottC has copied a menu in pdf format on a post on the BA board. You can do a search for the title:
BA or CX F Class (post started on 12-25-2001)
It's from last year - but will give you an idea.
As Dave said - no amenity kits. There was audio - I thought it was only 5 channels - there might have been 6 - they were ok.
As for expecting a 'refined' passenger load - it was a bit more like an Agatha Christie novel - there was a whole range of people including a couple of rock music celebs, a few wealthy older couples, the plane spotter types, the man next to me who slept the whole way (but the crew knew him as a regular traveller), a mother with two children, business types, and those who you just wondered who they were!
Cheers
WG
May 7, 2002, 11:36 am
#7
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"Breakfast was served out of the US and started with the caviar (not listed on the menu),"
ahhh...so thats where it was, I wondered how come I didnt notice any caviar on my trip. I just settled for the sandwiches
Dave
ahhh...so thats where it was, I wondered how come I didnt notice any caviar on my trip. I just settled for the sandwiches
Dave
May 7, 2002, 1:14 pm
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Thanks for the post on the trip!! It's been approximately 20 years since I flew on the Concorde, but there are 3 things that stand out in my mind as "different" than regular air travel: 1) The typical seasoned flier "knows" about when the plane will leave the ground.....while they may be wrong by a few moments one way or the other...they can guess it pretty close. With Concorde, the plane doesn't rotate out until WAY after you'd have guessed it should be in the air. 2) Most of the time, if you feel the wall of the cabin, your feeling "cool", and some people have to wear a sweater to keep warm if they sleep up against the window. With Concorde, the wall is correspondingly "warm" which is a surprise vs. other planes. and 3) If only I could go back to those carefree days....when I flew it as a courier on a free flight to London!!! The cost then must have been over $5000 each way, and my rent for a year probably didn't match that!! Hope everyone has a great time!! Best Wishes
May 7, 2002, 3:49 pm
#9
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LHR/MEL/Europe FF:
2: the load on each flight was about 80%. There were several pairs of seats unoccupied - so you could move.</font>
2: the load on each flight was about 80%. There were several pairs of seats unoccupied - so you could move.</font>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">As for expecting a 'refined' passenger load - it was a bit more like an Agatha Christie novel - there was a whole range of people including a couple of rock music celebs, a few wealthy older couples, the plane spotter types, the man next to me who slept the whole way (but the crew knew him as a regular traveller), a mother with two children, business types, and those who you just wondered who they were!</font>
Just in front of me (8A - a fine seat) was a young, 20ish gal and also a 70ish lady. I could only pick up bits and pieces but the older lady was a documentary producer. Said she travel on BA 001/002 alot. She had several huge pieces of luggage and was questioned by customs at JFK because she indicated she was carrying lots of food!! He let her by no problem. No idea who the young gal was.
Just behind me was a distinguished lady with a 7 month old baby. Lots of gold jewelry and a Prada diaper bag! The baby didn't make a peep the entire flight. She also was a seasoned traveler as mom mentioned that BA001 was so much easier due to the shortened time.
Opposite her was another distingushed, well-tanned lady who had most of Fort Knox around her neck.
May 8, 2002, 12:46 am
#10
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Great report! No-one has mentioned video entertainment options? What do they offer?
Glen and I had no problems whatever booking Z class (F) Concorde flights recently on our choice of dates, and the connecting flights in U (biz) class BA to and from AMS. All booked by phone with normal QF rez staff in Sydney. We both used our own QF points, as we had a very large balance from QF past flights etc. We are only Bronze and Silver QF status, so have no special clout with QF to get favourable treatment.
June 06 - AMS-LHR arrive 07.50am
June 06 - LHR-JFK arrive 09.25am Concorde seats 10A/10B
June 08 - JFK-LHR arrive 5.25pm Concorde seats 6A/6B
June 09 - LHR-AMS arrive 3.40 pm
Anyone around NYC or LHR at those times please contact me and we can arrange to catch up for a drink - - We may even be able to "sneak" you into the Concorde lounge as our "guests"!?
'Cost' of the BA flying above was 125,000 points each. Destination/origin change [like starting FRA not AMS etc] also possible for penalty of only 5,000 QF points.
The penalty is small to cancel outright (also 5,000) so locking in tickets early is wise, as we were told having done so they will honour our award even if it gets cancelled for future redemptions. Is this correct from experience of those on this board? We have changed flight dates once already, and both times they were happy to pre-allocate the Concorde seats.
Girl we spoke to said she had heard there were lots of bookings on Concorde coming through 'for some reason' and "the brass were now looking at whether to keep honouring Concorde in this award range", so be quick is our advice if you want to lock these in.
Glen and I had no problems whatever booking Z class (F) Concorde flights recently on our choice of dates, and the connecting flights in U (biz) class BA to and from AMS. All booked by phone with normal QF rez staff in Sydney. We both used our own QF points, as we had a very large balance from QF past flights etc. We are only Bronze and Silver QF status, so have no special clout with QF to get favourable treatment.
June 06 - AMS-LHR arrive 07.50am
June 06 - LHR-JFK arrive 09.25am Concorde seats 10A/10B
June 08 - JFK-LHR arrive 5.25pm Concorde seats 6A/6B
June 09 - LHR-AMS arrive 3.40 pm
Anyone around NYC or LHR at those times please contact me and we can arrange to catch up for a drink - - We may even be able to "sneak" you into the Concorde lounge as our "guests"!?
'Cost' of the BA flying above was 125,000 points each. Destination/origin change [like starting FRA not AMS etc] also possible for penalty of only 5,000 QF points.
The penalty is small to cancel outright (also 5,000) so locking in tickets early is wise, as we were told having done so they will honour our award even if it gets cancelled for future redemptions. Is this correct from experience of those on this board? We have changed flight dates once already, and both times they were happy to pre-allocate the Concorde seats.
Girl we spoke to said she had heard there were lots of bookings on Concorde coming through 'for some reason' and "the brass were now looking at whether to keep honouring Concorde in this award range", so be quick is our advice if you want to lock these in.
May 8, 2002, 2:05 am
#13
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tinkybelle - one of us paid the 2500 change fee, the other (silver) did not. Could have argued the toss as both on one pnr, but did not want anyone looking too closely at a CONCORDE booking to be honest, so we copped it on the chin. We firmly believe they will amend the 125,000 BA "Z" award very soon to not include Concorde. 
Dave - I understand westwards it is usually closer to 4 hours flying isn't it? Not many if any Inercontinental flights on any major airline do NOT offer a 90-120 min movie choice on that length flight in F. Do you know of ANY?
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[This message has been edited by Joh (edited 05-08-2002).]
Dave - I understand westwards it is usually closer to 4 hours flying isn't it? Not many if any Inercontinental flights on any major airline do NOT offer a 90-120 min movie choice on that length flight in F. Do you know of ANY?
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[This message has been edited by Joh (edited 05-08-2002).]
May 8, 2002, 2:49 am
#14
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by tinkybelle:
[B]Dave-
Is the champagne KRUG?
and are they generous with it??
/B]</font>
[B]Dave-
Is the champagne KRUG?
and are they generous with it??
/B]</font>
I can help out with this one! The champagne is Krug (or at least at the time of this posting) - they have a range and select one for the flight.
According to the crew they carry 48 bottles and go through about half of those. On flights to Barbados however they said they usually run out.
Cheers
WG
May 8, 2002, 3:59 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Joh:
tinkybelle - one of us paid the 2500 change fee, the other (silver) did not. Could have argued the toss as both on one pnr, but did not want anyone looking too closely at a CONCORDE booking to be honest, so we copped it on the chin. We firmly believe they will amend the 125,000 BA "Z" award very soon to not include Concorde.
Dave - I understand westwards it is usually closer to 4 hours flying isn't it? Not many if any Inercontinental flights on any major airline do NOT offer a 90-120 min movie choice on that length flight in F. Do you know of ANY?</font>
tinkybelle - one of us paid the 2500 change fee, the other (silver) did not. Could have argued the toss as both on one pnr, but did not want anyone looking too closely at a CONCORDE booking to be honest, so we copped it on the chin. We firmly believe they will amend the 125,000 BA "Z" award very soon to not include Concorde.
Dave - I understand westwards it is usually closer to 4 hours flying isn't it? Not many if any Inercontinental flights on any major airline do NOT offer a 90-120 min movie choice on that length flight in F. Do you know of ANY?
</font>
It was about 3hrs 15 each way when I did it. Obviously you haven't travelled on Qantas from CNS-PER on a 146
Anyway, Concorde isnt 1st class , its listed in the timetable as SSC ( Supersonic class ).
Do you know any other major airlines showing movies in SSC ?
Dave